Huskers Look to Bounce Back Against Cylones

No. 3 Nebraska (19-2, 11-1) vs. No. 12 Iowa State (9-3, 16-4)
Saturday, Oct. 30 • NU Coliseum • 7:30 p.m.
TV:NET    Lincoln - (Time Warner: SD-12/HD-112  |  DirecTV:  SD/HD-29 |  Dish Network: SD/HD-12)
                Omaha - (Cox: SD-12/HD-712 | DirecTV: 379 | Dish Network: 26)
Radio:Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and KTWI 93.3 FM in Omaha, and on Huskers.com
Web Video: Huskers.com (Free Video)
Live Stats: Huskers.com

Following its first conference loss of the season on Wednesday night at Texas, the No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team (19-2, 11-1)  will get back on the court Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones (16-4, 9-3) at the NU Coliseum.

The Huskers sit atop the Big 12 Conference and will be in search of their 10 straight win at home this season, while Iowa State enters the night on a five-match winning streak, including four sweeps during the run.

Nebraska has won the last three meetings between the two programs, including a 3-1 win in Ames earlier this season to open Big 12 play.

The match will be carried statewide on NET  and a free live video stream will also be available on Huskers.com.

In Lincoln, NET can be found on channel 12(SD)/112(HD), DirecTV channel 29 and on DISH Network channel 12. While in Omaha, NET is on Cox Communications channel 12(SD)/712(HD), DirecTV channel 379 and DISH Network channel 26.

Fans can also listen to all of the action with John Baylor and Diane Mendenhall on the 25-station Husker Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha. Fans outside the network will also be able to catch the live audio feed for free on Huskers.com.

Scouting Iowa State

• The No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones enter Saturday night's match on a five-match winning streak after a 3-1 loss at Kansas on Oct. 9.
• The Cyclones rank second in the Big 12 in opponent hitting (.160), assists (13.59), kills (14.42) and digs (16.13).
• Sophomore setter Alison Landwehr leads the Big 12 with 11.69 assists per set. Her numbers are nearly identical in Big 12 matches with a conference-best 11.68 assists per set.
• Iowa State lost the first 74 matches in the series to the Huskers before capturing its first win last season with a 3-2 victory in Lincoln. Nebraska went on to beat ISU in Ames later in the year and then knocked the Cyclones out of the NCAA Tournament.
• Senior outside hitter Victoria Henson is averaging 4.30 kills per set, which ranks 19th in the NCAA and first in the Big 12.
• Iowa State Head Coach Christy Johnson-Lynch was Nebraska's starting setter on its 1995 national championship team.

The Last Meeting Between Nebraska and Iowa State (Sept. 15, 2010)
Playing in front of a hostile crowd at Ames High School, the No. 4 Nebraska volleyball team stayed a perfect 11-0 under Head Coach John Cook in Big 12 openers with a 3-1 win over the No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones (25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 28-26). Previously scheduled to be played at Hilton Coliseum, the match was moved to Ames High School due to water damage from a flood in August.

Lindsey Licht carried the Huskers with 15 kills and seven blocks, while Brooke Delano had seven kills and seven blocks and Tara Mueller added her third double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs.

Sydney Anderson and Lauren Cook continued to drive the Husker attack with 26 assists apiece, as three Huskers totaled double-digits kills.

Scouting Nebraska

• Nebraska is 19-2 overall in 2010 and leads the Big 12 Conference with an 11-1 league record entering Saturday night's match with Iowa State.
• The Huskers are ranked No. 2 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll after being ranked third for the past four weeks. It is the Huskers' highest ranking since they were ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll. Nebraska received six of the 60 available first-place votes this week and has been ranked in the top 10 all season.
• The Huskers are 17-0 this season when holding opponents below .200 hitting after the Huskers held Missouri to .152 hitting. Nebraska is 2-2 when opposing teams hit above .200.
• After hitting a season best .392 against Missouri, the Huskers are 180-0 under Head Coach John Cook when they hit .300 or better.
• Wednesday night's loss to Texas in Austin snapped the Huskers 18-match Big 12 winning streak that dated back to last season.
• The Huskers are 9-0 at home the season and have dropped just three sets all season at the NU Coliseum.
• Prior to last season's loss to Iowa State in the Lincoln the Huskers were a perfect 32-0 against the Cyclones.
• After posting double-digit blocks in nine of their first 14 matches the Huskers have hit double figured just twice in their last seven matches.
• Entering the week junior middle blocker Brooke Delano led the nation with a .446 hitting percentage and is ranked ninth in blocks per set at 1.44.
• Entering the week the Huskers are ranked in the top-five nationally in three categories, including blocks (1st-3.19), kills (3rd-15.04) and assists (4th-14.07) per set.
• Only four times this season has a team hit .200 or better against the Husker defense, including Florida (.270), Illinois (.216) and Texas twice (.272 & .252). In the Huskers' last six matches one team has hit better than .152, while two teams hit below .100.
• During Big 12 play the Huskers are tops in opponent hitting (.155), as well as assists (14.29), kills (15.24) and blocks (3.22) per set.
• Under Head Coach John Cook, the Huskers improved to 293-8 when winning the first set of the match after their 3-0 win over Missouri. The last time Nebraska won the first set and then lost the match was during the 2009 NCAA Regional Final, when Texas won 3-1 after NU took set one, 25-21.
• Four Huskers have combined for 16 double-doubles on the season, including nine from Hannah Werth, three each from Tara Mueller and Lauren Cook and one from Sydney Anderson.

36 to Go
Dubuque, Iowa, native Kayla Banwarth is on her way to breaking NU's career record in digs, currently held by Jennifer Saleaumua (1,568).

A senior in 2010, Banwarth needed 383 digs entering this season to break the record is getting closer with every match.

Through 21 matches this season, Banwarth leads NU with 347 digs, leaving her just 36 digs to break the all-time record.

Last season, Banwarth compiled 570 digs, which nearly broke Dani Busboom's 2006 single-season record of 580.

Know How to Rebound
During Head Coach John Cook's first 10 seasons at Nebraska the Huskers have been tough following a loss in conference as they have lost back-to-back conference matches only twice. The Huskers dropped two straight to Kansas State and Missouri in 2003 before they fell to Texas A&M and Texas last season.

When the Husker lose on the road and then play their next match at home they are 7-1 all-time under Cook. The only time they didn't respond with a win was last season when they fell at Texas A&M and followed with a loss to Texas at home.

Anderson All-Time
Entering the season ranked ninth on Nebraska's career chart with 2,683 assists, senior Sydney Anderson's 445 assists this season have already moved her to sixth place on the career list with 3,125 dishes.

After passing Lori Endicott (3,117) on Wednesday night in Austin, Anderson now needs 56 assists to pass Christy Johnson and move to fifth on the all-time chart.

Delano Dialed In
Junior middle blocker Brooke Delano continues to swing a hot hand as she entered the week with an NCAA-leading .446 hitting percentage (.441 after Texas match).

An All-American in 2009, Delano has hit .500 or better 10 times in 2010, including two matches where she hit over .700.

In her seven matches in the month of October Delano is hitting at a .500 clip, with her worst match coming against Texas A&M where she still fired at .333. She has put away 75 kills on 128 attacks while committing just 11 errors in the month.

Delano is looking to become just the fourth Husker in school history to hit .400 or better in a season. Tracy Stalls was the last Husker to do so when she set the NU single-season record in 2007 when she hit .473. Stalls also hit .400 in 2006.

Ace in the Hole
After averaging 0.24 aces per set during non-conference play, sophomore Lauren Cook has become the top server during Big 12 play with 0.32 aces per set. Cook leads the team with 21 aces on the year, including 13 in conference matches, and has notched an ace in all but three matches this season.

Earlier in the year Cook posted an ace in 10 straight matches before she failed to produce one at home against Kansas. Currently she has put away an ace in five straight matches, including a season-best three at Kansas State.

The Great Wall
The Husker defense has shutdown opposing hitters all season and for it the Huskers entered the week ranked No. 1 in the country in blocks with 3.19 per set (3.12 after Texas match). Nebraska has posted double-digit stuffs in 10 matches this season, including 15 or more three times.

During Big 12 play the Huskers have been even tougher on opposing attackers with 3.22 blocks per set.

Along with Brooke Delano's conference-best 1.45 blocks per set, which ranks ninth nationally, Jordan Wilberger and Lindsey Licht join Delano on the Big 12 top-10 list with 1.23 and 1.15 blocks per set, respectively.

Since Head Coach John Cook took over at Nebraska in 2000, the Huskers have earned the NCAA blocking title five times, including 2000, '01, '02, '04 and '05.

Huskers Fall for First Time in October
After starting October 6-0 this season the Huskers were looking to go undefeated in the month for the first time since 2006 when they went 7-0, but they were thrown off the path with their loss at Texas.

Nebraska is now 215-26 in October all-time and 86-7 under Head Coach John Cook.

Total Team Effort
It is all about the team at Nebraska and it shows this season as the Huskers entered the week ranked in the top-15 nationally in four categories, including three top-five rankings. What makes the feat even more impressive is the fact that Nebraska only has one player that ranks in the top 50 of any individual national category. Brooke Delano entered the week with a nation-leading hitting percentage of .446 and ranked ninth in blocks per set (1.44).

No Place Like Home
The Huskers hold a home-court advantage at the Coliseum due to the Huskers' passionate fan base.

Nebraska currently holds a streak of 143 consecutive sellouts at the NU Coliseum, the longest sellout streak across all NCAA women's athletics. The Huskers averaged 5,197 fans per home contest last season (including a match at the Devaney Center) and are averaging 4,099 fans through seven matches at the Coliseum in 2010. Including the Devaney Center match this season against Illinois, the Huskers are averaging 4,960 fans per home contest.

Werth the Wait
Sophomore Hannah Werth has come alive for the Huskers of late as she is averaging 3.62 kills per set and has a .367 hitting percentage over her last four matches, including a .474 performance at Kansas State.  In her first 17 matches of the season Werth was hitting .205 and averaging 2.58 kills per set.

Taking Down Ranked Foes
Nebraska enters Saturday night's match against No. 12 Iowa State with a 5-2 record this season against top-25 ranked teams. Nebraska is the only Big 12 school that is .500 or better against top-25 teams and is the only program with more than three wins against ranked teams.

Iowa State has struggled this year against ranked opponents as they are 2-3 against the top 25 and are 0-1 versus the top 10. Iowa State's two wins over ranked foes came against then-No. 14 Kentucky (3-1) and then-No. 18 Northern Iowa (3-0).

The Huskers only losses on the year came to then-No. 13 Florida and No. 10 Texas.  Florida is currently 18-1 and is ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.

Streaks Snapped
The Huskers saw two streaks come to an end with their loss at Texas on Oct. 27. Entering the match the Huskers held the Big 12's longest winning streak in conference matches with 18, which also ranked seventh nationally. The Huskers were also one of six teams in the NCAA that hadn't lost a true road match this season.

Head of the CLASS
Nebraska senior setter Sydney Anderson was named one of 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Monday, Oct. 11 for women's volleyball.

A two-time AVCA All-American, Anderson was named to the preseason All-Big 12 list and is a two-time captain for the Huskers.

Fans can vote every day for Sydney at www.SeniorCLASSaward.com.

Try to Take a Set
In Big 12 play this season the Huskers have won 34 of the 41 sets they've played. No other team in the conference has lost less than 10 sets in Big 12 play. Overall this season Nebraska is 60-14 in sets.

At home this season in Big 12 matches the Huskers have lost only two sets, with the last coming in a win over Texas (3-1) on Oct. 2.

Sharing the Kill
The 2010 Huskers ranked first in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally  with 14.99 kills per set, but Nebraska doesn't have one player on the individual Big 12 top-10 list or national top-50 list.

Five Huskers average at least two kills per set, including Lindsey Licht (3.01), Brooke Delano (2.93), Hannah Werth (2.78), Tara Mueller (2.14) and Morgan Broekhuis (2.01).

En Fuego
All-American Brooke Delano was on fire when the Huskers visited Missouri on Wednesday, Oct. 6, as the junior middle blocked put away 14 kills on 16 swings and had no errors.

Her .875 hitting percentage was the fourth-best individual performance all time and tops for a Huskers since Tracy Stalls tied Megan Korver's (1998) school record on Nov. 24, 2007 when she went a perfect 13-13 at the net. Stalls also hit .846 earlier in the same season with a 11-0-13 performance against Oklahoma.

Mighty Middles
Nebraska's middle blockers have been a force both offensively and defensively this season. Brooke Delano and Jordan Wilberger rank first (.441) and fifth (.333), respectively, in the Big 12 in hitting percentage and also rank first (1.45) and sixth (1.23) in blocks.

Dishing it Out
Setters Sydney Anderson and Lauren Cook have led the Huskers to a fourth-place ranking nationally and the top mark in the Big 12 Conference when it comes to assists with 14.00 per set.

With the Huskers running a 6-2 rotation, neither Anderson or Cook rank in the top-50 nationally or in the 10 top of the conference, but the pair has helped the Huskers rank 12th nationally and second in the Big 12 with a .278 hitting percentage.

The Other Blackshirts
The Nebraska football team isn't the only team on campus with a dominant defense, as the Husker volleyball team held Colorado to just seven points in the second set on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the NU Coliseum. It was the least amount of points a team have scored against the Huskers since the NCAA switched to 25-point rally scoring prior to the 2008 season. Nebraska had previously held a team to nine points on two occasions, including Tulane in 2009 and Kentucky in 2010's season opener.